The Complexity of Being Me

~ Chapter 3

I hear the door close behind me as Jacob exits the classroom. I start to head in the direction of my third-period class. As I'm walking, I can still hear Jacob's footsteps behind me.

I whip my head around. "Will you quit following me?" I snap.

"My class is this way," he snaps back.

He pushes me out of the way to get in front of me. I feel my hands clench into fists as I glare at his back. Why does he have to be so annoying? I look into his mind.

Oh. We're going to the same class.

I groan out loud. Why does my life have to be this way?

Jacob spins around. "What?" he demands.

"Nothing," I say, crossing my arms.

He glares at me before turning back around. We both continue walking. I make sure I keep a distance from him.

A while later, we both get to our classroom door. Jacob knocks, and a few seconds later a boy with brown hair and brown eyes opens the door.

The teacher sees us from where she is standing. "You must be Nadia and Jacob. Go find a seat," she tells us.

Jacob sits next to the boy who opened the door as I scan the room for an empty seat. I eventually decide on a seat next to a slim girl with ginger hair and light green eyes.

"Hi, I'm Alice." she says in almost a whisper after I sit down

I smile. "I'm N⁠—"

"Yeah, I know," she interrupts, not making eye contact.

I raise my eyebrow and I see her sink into her seat. She's a human, so why is she acting so weird?

"Are you okay?" I ask, hoping to get answers.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she says in a high pitched squeak.

I hear her heart rate speed up, telling me that she's lying. I peel into her mind and see flashes of images that I can barely pick apart. Some of the images meld together as her thoughts race at seemingly supersonic speeds. I'm pretty sure I saw my face in there somewhere. Her mind is in way too many different places right now. I need her to calm down.

"I need you to look at me." I say as calmly as possible.

She slowly turns her head to face me. Once we lock eyes, I compel her, "Calm down."

I see her body visibly relax and her heartbeat starts to slow down. Now that she is calm, I read her mind. To my surprise, I see the fight between me and Jacob flash first, followed by a close up of my fangs and Jacob in wolf form.

Shit, she knows I'm a vampire.

I slouch back in my seat. How did I not notice her?

"So, is it true?" Alice asks quietly.

"What?" I stall.

"You're a vamp⁠—"

"Yes!" I hiss, cutting her off. "Don't say it so loud!"

She shrinks in her chair. "Sorry."

I run a frustrated hand through my hair.

"So, they're real," she whispers.

I nod slowly.

"Are...are you going to hurt me now?" she asks in that high-pitched squeak again.

I raise an eyebrow. "Why would I do that?"

She shrugs, seeming to become one with the chair. "I dunno."

I can tell she's afraid of me. Her thoughts are racing again.